Q&A with Delphi Mayor Randy Strasser

Delphi Mayor Randy Strasser wasn't surprised to be elected president of the Indiana Conference of Mayors.

The surprise, he said, came last year when Strasser, the mayor of a small city, was elected as vice president.

Now, he educates and legislates around the state to increase awareness of mayoral issues in Indiana.

Question: Did you know before the meeting that you were going to be elected as president?

Answer: It's kind of one of those procedural-type things where once you get to be vice president, then the next year you become the president. So, we knew going into the meeting and everything that I was going to be the president.

Q: What has your time in the organization taught you?

A: Being a mayor from a real small community, we share a lot of issues — good and bad issues — with the bigger communities. The other thing is talking, and not being able to reach out and chat with any of the other mayors. I'm usually not bashful at networking and talking with people, but some of the issues that we have in small communities can be of interest to even the larger communities.

Q: Speaking of differences between larger and smaller communities, how do you deal with issues that you might not have personal experience with from being a mayor from a smaller city that bigger cities do have?

A: Usually that has to do with resources that you have. For instance, in Delphi, we have one department doing several different things where a bigger community has different departments doing different things. It forces me to rely on the department heads and the knowledge of those departments. We have to be more resourceful in a smaller community than the bigger communities do.

Q: What are some of the big issues that face Indiana mayors?

A: Right now, some of the biggest issues are some of the legislation that happens at the state level that effects local funding.

Q: Are there any advantages to Delphi with you as president of the organization?

A: I wouldn't think so. It doesn't come with a million-dollar stipend or grant or anything. I do think I have a pretty good reputation with legislators and mayors throughout the state, and I'm humbled by that.

Q: What do you plan to do as ICOM President?

A: A lot of it is educational. But, as president, I'm actually in Indianapolis right now as a representative of ICOM, and I'm sitting on the public integrity coalition that's been put together by the attorney general's office. So, filling in in those positions ... and just trying to pass the word and our message of what the mayors' issues are if we can at the state.